How to hike the El Pianista trail, Boquete, Panama

About the El Pianista trail

The El Pianista trail is an uphill 3 hour there-and-back hike in Boquete, Panama.

After leaving the road and going over a gravel track, you’ll ascend through the cloud forest using mud and stone steps. The steps supposedly look like piano keys, giving it its name – but as the resemblance seemed pretty limited, I’m not sure how much faith I have in this theory!

The beauty of this trail is that, theoretically, the ascent into the forest should take you into the clouds. I’ve read about how the rain and clouds make the forest come alive and provide an ethereal feel to the place.

Now, I visited the trail on a surprisingly sunny day – no clouds in sight. Therefore, I never had the experience of ascending through the clouds (although the viewpoint was probably at its clearest). This is one of those hikes that’s actually bettter in slightly worse weather!

However, even without the “cloud” part of cloud forest playing its part, I can attest to the otherworldly feel of the place. At times, when the rest of my group was ahead and I was mostly alone, it felt like the forest had a life of its own: unnerving indeed.

The lost girls of Panama

One sad thing about the trail, and possibly what it’s best known for, is that two girls disappeared in 2014 after taking it.

I do have to admit that, when I learnt this the night before going on the trek, I did have some reservations (and a sleepless night). Was it safe?

It doesn’t help that, although it’s thought that their deaths were accidental, there are still a lot of rumours about what happened. For example, our taxi driver en route to the trailhead told us about rumours of people disappearing on the trek, and I’ve seen a lot of armchair investigators speculating about what could have happened online. There are still a lot of unknowns regarding the case, which is certainly enough to keep your mind wandering.

However, they were thought to have continued past the viewpoint and over the continental divide, where the trail is less visible and more treacherous. Nowadays, as long as you do not pass the viewpoint and the memorial for the girls at this site, the path is considered to be safe.

On my visit, the path felt safe, with no atypical dangers or problems. So don’t let this or any scaremongering you may find online put you off from visiting!

If you’re looking for more information about the case, take a look at the Strange Outdoors, who do a good job of examining the case. There’s a lot of news articles and podcasts which you can also check out.

Do you need a guide?

Following the deaths of Kris Kremers and Lisanne Froon, some people have been advised to take a guide on this hike. Therefore, if you would feel most comfortable hiking with a guide, I would say go for it.

The start of the trail is slightly confusing as there are a couple of intersections where you must take the correct turning, or you’ll end up on private land. However, after this the trail is generally easy to follow and doesn’t feel dangerous or difficult, so a guide isn’t strictly necessary.

My group hiked without a guide and were fine. I think this just comes down to personal preference.

How difficult is the trail?

The El Pianista trail is not the easiest hike in the Boquete area for sure. The route is mostly uphill and ascends several hundred metres up into the forest. The path is mainly dirt and mud, and there are several sets of rocky stairs which you have to go up as well.

Overall, I’d put the trail at a moderate level. There are some painful stretches, but it is doable if you’re okay with uphill uneven paths!

How does the El Pianista trail rate as a hike?

As part of this blog, I give every place I visit a rating so that I (and now you!) can easily compare destinations and decide whether they’re worth a visit – those are the scores you see at the top of the page!

This is how the El Pianista trail rated:

• Accessibility: 2/5 – the trailhead is located outside Boquete and transport options to reach it are limited. The walk itself includes several sets of steps, with an ascent of a few hundred metres.
• Safety: 4/5 – I felt generally safe on this hike. However, the trail does pass a couple of steep and slippery sections which might be dangerous in heavy rain. Emergency evacuation would also be difficult.
• Enjoyment: 3/5 – I enjoyed the hike. However, my visit fell on a sunny day which removed the “cloud” element of cloud forest, and I was a bit nervous after reading about the lost girls of Panama the night before.
• Value: 4/5 – the El Pianista hike is free! There will be transport costs associated with getting to the trailhead, but compared to other hikes in the area, these are not significant.

Overall score: 3.25/5

If you’ve already visited, let me know if you agree with these ratings! Just to note, the ratings are my personal opinion based on my visit, so you might have a completely different experience.

More: how I rank destinations using the Everywhere Ratings system

How to get to the trailhead

The Pionista trail, aptly, begins at Il Pianista, a restaurant around 7 km from Boquete.

To get there, you have three options: walk or take a taxi or colectivo. The walk is just over 1 hour from downtown Boquete, down the main road; it didn’t seem particularly interesting or inspiring to me but would be an option if you’re looking to save cash (or struggle to get back into town).

We took a taxi. You should have no problems catching one in Boquete – there’s normally a lot of taxis passing on the street, and there is a taxi rank at the main plaza in Bajo Boquete should there be any problems. We paid $5 each way for a car of 5 – be prepared to negotiate as the drivers both initially requested $10 or a per person charge. If you ask to be taken to “El Pianista” you’ll be taken to the trailhead.

There’s also a colectivo from Boquete which passes the trailhead. I’m not sure how frequent these go, but in Boquete you should look out for a colectivo heading to Alto Lino.

Note that there aren’t many vehicles coming to and from this area, so you may struggle to find a taxi on the way back. I’d recommend obtaining the number of a taxi before you leave the town so that you can message one once you’re done if none are (most likely) available. If not, there’s always the option to wait for the colectivo!

Navigating the trail

For the most part, the trail is easy to follow. However, there are a couple of junctions where you need to take the correct turn or you’ll end up on private property. In one section there are a couple of aggressive dogs near the trail so you’ll want to avoid walking accidentally into their territory, and we also met a man who had been escorted by workers off their property when he made the wrong turn.

I’d recommend taking a look at the directions on All Trails before you go. Keep the website up and screenshot it just in case!

Starting the El Pianista trail

To give you an idea of what to expect from the trail, I’ll give you a recount of our visit.

We headed up the path by Il Pianista restaurant as pointed out by our taxi driver. Initially it is wide and gravelly with agricultural farmland either side. At this point we had a good view of the cloud forest on the hills up ahead – although given we had exceptionally good weather, I doubt picturesque views are a typical feature of this area!

Early on we crossed a rusty iron bridge which, frankly, felt very un-sturdy, then we headed left along the track. Once we encountered another path we turned left onto this.

There are several later turns that we followed using screenshots from All Trails.

After some time walking (perhaps 20 or 30 minutes), the path gets much thinner and steeper. The forest seems almost to close in on you as you ascend, and at times it felt like it closed in so much it would be claustrophobic. At several points the path cuts through the underlying mud, so you walk up mud steps with muddy banks, covered in moss, rising on each side. There’s also a few sections where you have to climb over a few rocks, which is fun!

It was quiet, mostly, except for the occasional birdsong. We didn’t see many people as we hiked (we counted 14 others), so felt quite alone for much of the trail.

Even in sunny weather, the forest is so pretty and lush that we enjoyed hiking through it. However, I can imagine that, during or following rainfall, the forest becomes something else, with its own spirit and heart.

Possible dog risk

Before we headed out, my friends had read about a possible aggressive dog half of the way along the trail. Several people we spoke to at our hostel had varying experiences of this from undertaking the hike a few days earlier – one had seen it, been barked at and thought it quite frightening, whilst two others hadn’t heard or seen any dogs in this part of the hike. We’d also heard of a few people who had been chased and even bitten.

We weren’t sure what to expect, so several of my friends picked up rocks to throw just in case, should we encounter a dog that doesn’t back off.

(I should clarify at this point – if you encounter an aggressive dog, please do not throw rocks at it! According to guidance online, you should not provoke the dog by throwing things at it. Instead, act calm and slowly remove yourself from the dog’s area.)

On the way there, we heard a dog barking but didn’t see it; there were no problems. On the way back, we saw a couple up ahead dealing with the dog calmly, so we joined them to walk calmly past. The dog just barked at us as we went past and didn’t seem so aggressive – we do wonder if some of the worst experiences with aggressive dogs on this trail have occurred with people accidentally walking onto their land. Or perhaps we were just lucky!

Either way, I’d suggest exercising some caution and not being too loud along this section, just in case.

The viewpoint

After around 1 to 1.5 hours the path opened: we’d arrived at the viewpoint.

I say “viewpoint”, but please don’t expect any beautiful views or landscapes. The trees are quite high around this area and the valley is quite tight, so you can only see as far as the next hill. It’s pretty – looking at any cloud forest is – but this alone wouldn’t justify the hike. I also heard that the view normally isn’t this clear, further making this not feeling like a typical end point for a hike.

At the viewpoint we saw the memorial for the lost girls of Panama, which was really moving. After this point, the path visibly appeared more out of control and overgrown, and we were quite happy to turn back rather than continuing further along into the unknown.

The viewpoint was a great place to stop for lunch!

Finishing the hike

Returning to the trailhead was easy as you just return in the direction you came. In this direction, there aren’t any confusing decisions to take regarding which route to go.

Once you’ve reached the main road, you can then call a taxi, wait for the colectivo or walk back into town.

Looking for other hikes around Boquete? Check out my guide on how to visit the Pipeline Trail!

Tips

If you’re planning to undertake the Pianista hike, I’d suggest the following things to make it that much better:

1. Visit when the area is cloudy. On a sunny day, we missed the experience of rising through the clouds, which I really would have enjoyed doing.
2. Avoid the hike if there’s been significant rainfall recently. There are several muddy stretches which would most likely get quite slippery after rain.
3. Bring mosquito repellent. There are a lot of mosquitos along the trail! You might want to consider bringing long trousers to help protect your legs too.
4. Make sure you leave enough time to get back to Boquete before dark. Given how quiet the trail is and how dense the forest around it is, I would make sure you are off the El Pianista trail before nighttime. Given it takes around 3 hours, allowing for breaks and time to walk back to town if necessary, don’t start the hike if there’s less than 4-5 hours to go before sunset.

Conclusion

The El Pianista hike is a good way to spend a morning or afternoon if you’re in Boquete. Cutting through cloud forest, its ethereal aura makes it feel different to other hikes in the area.

Have you undertaken the Pianista hike, or are you planning to? Would you recommend this hike? Let us know in the comments!

More information

• Journey Era’s article on visiting El Pianista is super informative, plus their article includes some gorgeous photos of the cloud forest. Their blog is great for every destination in Panama!
• For more information on Boquete and the surrounding walks, check out Boquete Nature Walks. It’s a gem with more information on where to stay and eat after you’ve finished your hike.